5 Days til Christmas

Right now, I'm dreaming of giving Christmas gifts from my garden. Homemade jams and preserves, jars of honey (now thats really dreaming) and bundles of edible flowers. Oooo, homemade granola and dried fruits would be so wonderful! If I could, I would...and it would look something like this...


Happy Holiday Dreaming,
Monica ;0)

First Winter

So, since I've started the beginnings of a garden, I'm experiencing my first winter. When I started this garden, I knew it was going to be tough because of the winter. But, I also knew it was possible because I live in California. The winters are short lived.

I planted my garden with high hopes and have lost several pods from one factor or another. However, I have a good handful of plants that have held on. I even have the cutest garlic garden growing with no problems. Here is an update of my plants that have held on...

The "Cheater" Broccoli is doing great.

I'm so proud of my cauliflower! Completely grown on my own!

I have 4 Jalapeno plants holding on...2 for dear life. lol


I have some Peppers from a Hot Pepper Mix also holding on.


Tomatoes and Pot of Gold Bell Peppers are still kicking!


Wow, so wimpy. I should of transplanted a long time ago. :(


I have a small garlic garden. So far, so good.

I can't believe all of these plants are doing so well. Since I'm experimenting...I'm really surprised at how well they are doing in this cold weather. I thought they would all turn brown and wither away because of the low 40's weather we've been experimenting. But, they are all still green and alive. Cool.

Winter Wishes,
Monica ;0)

I Cheated!

All of my broccoli babies have died. Not a one made it to the 2nd set of leaves! I blame it on the white fly attack. So, imagine my delight when I found some broccoli plants at the local Home Depot store. They were only $1.68 for 4 plants. How could I resist. I noticed the leaves looked worn and possibly attacked by pests, but I thought since they had made it thus far and since they were so cheap, it's worth a shot.

On the way home I killed 1 white fly. I now realized why the leaves were looking so pathatic. Those white flies get around! When I got home, I transplanted them into larger pots the next day. Of course I would transplant them on the first night of a strong wind storm. (As a new gardener...I haven't tuned into the weekly weather patterns...yet.) The lights flickered as I read one of my favorite mystery books by Diane Mott Davidson. As I was immerged into who tried to kill Dr. Fritz, I couldn't help but worry about my plants. Would they survive the strong winds? I did check on them and I weighed anything down that could fly away. The plants seemed fine. I would have to see how fine they were the next morning. Next on the to do list is to get a net to keep the pesky pests out. Soon.

Photo of my "cheater" broccoli. (I won't tell if you don't.) ;0)

(I took this photo in December...don't they look great!)

Cheaters Anonymous,
Monica ;0)

October Garlic

With halloween right around the corner, having some garlic on hand for those pesky vampires is a good idea. Not to mention, garlic goes wonderfully into a lot of dishes. So, I started some garlic sprouts inside of my home in a little cup. I'm excited to say that I have several cloves that have grown roots and a couple that have began to sprout.

Observe...

Here you can see the roots popping out. (top)

Green shoots popping out.

Within 3 - 4 days the green shoots appeared. I was not expecting such progress so quickly. I can't wait to see what happens next. That would be because I have no idea. lol Yes, I'm a first timer garlic grower. Question is, when do I plant them into the ground. Well, I guess it's back to research.

Vampires Beware,
Monica ;0)

Miniature Lemon Tree Update

Looking good mini lemon tree.

All is well with the miniature lemon tree. I'm just wondering, do they all grow this slow? I've kept this plant under a covered patio and it's been safe from the white flies. I wonder if the covering had anything to do with it. Because, about 20 feet from this plant I was keeping my starter garden in the sun...no covering, and it was attacked by the killer white flies. Hmmm.

Sour Salutations,
Monica ;0)

Attack of the White Flies

October is the best month ever. Well, since I was born in it, it is. lol I love when the season really starts to change and the weather begins to cool off. It may not be snowing, but a week of rain is like a vacation to a rain forest is this inhabited desert. While I have been enjoying the comings and goings of rain, I've been consumed with the survival of my starter garden.

Unfortunately, I've had my first run in with white flies. I had NO idea that the tiny white bugs flying around in my starter garden were the little destroyers I've been reading about. They are SO small! I pondered that they could be the white fly, but wondered just how much damage could those tiny little things cause. Especially since I could barely see them. I let time go by and kept a close eye on my garden. Then one morning, my tomato plants were nearly dead! I thought, what the heck. It couldn't of been those little buggers! After I had a discussion with my mother, who is much more experienced at gardening, she informed me that it's white fly season. Oh. So those tiny white things did caused all this damage! There was just a small handful of them and WOW, they are not nice.

I brought my garden inside and got rid of all the flies I could. The garden is doing much better, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose the hybrid tomatoes. :(

I transplanted the gold bell peppers because they have started rooting into the pod and running out of room. I transplanted one of four without the pod. I was curious how it would do. As I took the pod off I could hear roots breaking. They are now outside...under the patio covering. I'm happy to report, the white flies have not found them yet. I'm planning on putting the plastic bottles over them to help them get though the winter. The "winters" in my city are a joke. It's really cold...sometimes. So, I'm not too worried about losing them. As a matter of fact, the sun is shining right now. Even with the threat of a 20-70% chance of rain. lol

Enjoy some photos of my progress. (and unprogress. lol) ;0)

Barely alive hybrid tomatoes.


Transplanted Pot of Gold Bell Peppers.


Tomato hopefuls and thriving Jalapeno.
See how damaged the leaves are. Curse you white flies.


A ray of hope. The lettuce I thought would never come in...2 tiny sprouts.
Jalapeno and Cauliflowers.

White Fly Regards,
Monica ;0)

Seedling Jungle

It's starting to look like a jungle in here. The seedlings are finally really starting to take off. I thought the leader of the pack would be the tomatoes because they grow so easily. But, upon taking a closer look, it's the bell peppers that are winning. I'm excited about that. ;0)

And leading in the front is the Gold Bell Peppers.

Aren't they cute.

It's just a matter of time before they permenantly move outside into their own containers. Or, into the empty garden space under the patio. ;0)

Jungle Wishes,
Monica ;0)